Brake Master Cylinder

[cornontherob]

So as it turns out, you're supposed to bleed the master cylinder before you put it in. Brakes have been bled profusely, but zero braking power is available because there must still be air in the master cylinder. To prove this, I switched cylinders with my old one, same story. I could bench bleed the cylinder, but all the fluid spills out before it's able to be put on the car. Should I put the master cylinder in and attach a pressurized bleeder to the reservoir and bleed it that way? Would that be faster than bleeding for hours by having a buddy pump the brake pedal?